Picture for illustrative purposes only. ARCHIVE

Private sector companies in the UAE face a deadline on Friday (July 7) to hire Emirati employees or face a Dh42,000 fine per UAE citizen not hired. The deadline has been extended from June 30 to allow private sector companies with 50 employees or more to reach their Emiratisation target this year, according to the UAE’s Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MOHRE). Companies that fail to meet the Emiratisation target will be fined Dh42,000 for each Emirati not employed starting July 8. The federal law aims to raise Emiratisation rates by 2 percent annually to reach 10 percent by the end of 2026. Under the amended law, the annual Emiratisation target of 2 percent is split: 1 percent in the first six months and the other 1 percent in the second half of the year. Private sector companies with 50 or more employees are required to hire Emiratis in a total of 2 percent of skilled jobs before the yearend. This means, for example, that a company with 100 employees must hire a total of two Emiratis by the yearend, or 1 Emirati before July 8. “As the Ministry is committed to achieving its objectives of creating a competitive job market for UAE nationals and developing their skills through more collaboration with the private sector, we decided allowing more time for companies to comply with the decision and avoid relevant penalties,” MOHRE said in a statement. “We call on companies to take advantage of the extended deadline to reach their targets.” ICA/Expat Media
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